I'm starting this thread for a very obvious reason. 1st I don't think there are many on this board who don't believe the Texans need players at various positions. I will ask Vinny and others to contribute, because I don't see how we can we get what we need from the draft, but perhaps I'm Wrong. Then there is the question of FA, but Casserly and others are saying they aren't going to do much in FA. The owner says Carr is going to be protected. Now how is this going to be done given the personnel we have and what they have said they will and will not do? Can any one make heads or tails or this? I'm being very serious about these questions. I don't see why the current staff is going to be that much better given injuries and age. Certainly DROB, Earl, and Babbin have added to our Team, but we have Coleman headed for Surgery, possibly Payne and age is catching up with People like Walker and Glenn. Then there were the kicking problems this year and where do we stand there? Again, I have stated on more than one occassion that last years injuries took a severe toll on this team and I don't think we will recover anytime soon. That's not putting blame on anyone that is simply something that happened. It seems the words from the Organization are contradictory in nature. Does anyone have any real insight as to what they are going to do or can do given salary caps and the like...................

Yeah I kinda scratch my head too when they say we won't do much in FA. Really? So since we'll be in year 4 of the vaunted "five year plan" we're supposed to count on aging players we already have and even more rookies again? At some point you have to dip your toes into the FA pool. I need to see a little less talk and a lot more action. You certainly can't improve the O-line immediately through the draft.

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For the love of God, I'm from Houston, NOT Arizona. I only live here.

Conventional wisdom might say so, and it also says that 4-12 teams don't turn into 12-4 teams, but San Diego would beg to differ--they started a rookie 3rd round center and rookie 7th round RT this year--and only gave up 21 sacks.

Conventional wisdom might say so, and it also says that 4-12 teams don't turn into 12-4 teams, but San Diego would beg to differ--they started a rookie 3rd round center and rookie 7th round RT this year--and only gave up 21 sacks.

Then who's to blame for our suckiness? Maybe we don't need to improve the line. Maybe it's our scheme.

I for one think it is the scheme. We run too many deep patterns. Our passing game has always been most effective running slants, drags and short crossing routes, routes where Carr can get rid of the ball quickly.

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For the love of God, I'm from Houston, NOT Arizona. I only live here.

Obviously I don't mean to take anything away from what their OL accomplished, and this can't account entirely etc, but having Ladainian Tomlinson in the backfield to burn the D no matter when or where he gets the ball has to keep them pretty honest. Add to the fact Brees got himself together and found a #1 target (Gates) and the offense became pretty versatile.

Our line definitely has it's issues though and hopefully theyll be addressed so Carr doesn't become a permanent fixture at Reliant one day. (as in embedded into the ground)

Then who's to blame for our suckiness? Maybe we don't need to improve the line. Maybe it's our scheme.

I for one think it is the scheme. We run too many deep patterns. Our passing game has always been most effective running slants, drags and short crossing routes, routes where Carr can get rid of the ball quickly.

I posted this on HPF (as my sandman1604 name) and I'll bring it up here.

Our WRs rarely seem to come back to the ball, which is one of the easiest ways to get a completion because it's so hard for a DB to stay with a WR in those cases.

And I don't think we have a problem of too many deep patterns..with Carr's quick release and strong arm, if he can get just a couple seconds he should be able to find someone open. Not to mention we have good old "offense in a can" (or so the coaches think) Domanick Davis for Carr to dump off to.

Have to remember that our front office likes to put up a lot of smoke - Will we spend 10 million in cap space on FA? Probably not, but I wouldn't be surprised to see 5-6 mil used. You might also note that some of the FA comments came out before Payne's Week 17 injury.

We have the picks to get as many as three people who will push for starts in the draft. Another two to three folks from the draft should make the team as depth (like a CB behind Glenn, perhaps).

One of many possible scenarios for three potential starters includes a high quality ILB or O-lineman in the first, a big NT or 3-4 DE in the second and a C in the third.

Have to remember that our front office likes to put up a lot of smoke...

You're right, Casserly does blow smoke. But he does it so well, we tend to think he's giving it to us straight. Around this time last year, Casserly went on the radio extolling the virtues of OU's Tommie Harris and claiming that the draft had no blue chip CBs. We know what happened on draft day.

Ibar, Casserly has his marching orders from McNair. Give him the offseason to make that happen before we start bashing him, OK?

The owner says Carr is going to be protected. Now how is this going to be done given the personnel we have and what they have said they will and will not do? Can any one make heads or tails or this? ... I don't see why the current staff is going to be that much better given injuries and age. Certainly DROB, Earl, and Babbin have added to our Team, but we have Coleman headed for Surgery, possibly Payne and age is catching up with People like Walker and Glenn. Then there were the kicking problems this year and where do we stand there?

Perhaps McNair believes that pass protection doesn't come from a change in personnel but an increased effort to see those folks come together as a unit. I agree with this approach. It takes awhile for an offensive line to come together and perhaps the assessment is that these folks have the ability -- they just need to gel. You bring in a rookie and put him in the offensive line and its like the smell of blood for a shark on the other side of the ball. You will have to accept a year or two of veteran defensive linemen eating up that youngster until he learns the ropes, just as is the case for most rookies in the secondary. Of course, at times there are guys in the mix who just can't do the job and must be replaced. But then it takes another year or two for those guys to learn to work together. As far as the kicking game goes, it was a lot more inconsistent near the end of the year than it has ever been, but I certainly wouldn't spend a lot of time on that part of the game. Brown and Staley have shown in the past that they are strong kickers and can get the job done. There are much more pressing needs than the kicking game at this point.

I'm not bashing. I'm simply saying how is it going to be done and that I think it takes more than the draft to fix this ball club in part due to injuries. I'm just saying how do you see us filling in the blanks. I think its going to be very hard without using FA.

oh lord our D was coming around in the second half of the season, our O-Line was very inconsistent bur carr did the best he could behind it, we finished the season at 7-9, have 3 more solid starters in babin, robinson, and earl. Need improvments on the D and O line. Have some solid recievers for the future in AJ, Gaffney, and Armstrong. And a quality RB who has opened his career with back to back 1,000 yard seasons ! Now what we need is some consistency from our players and our coach. We dont need any dramatic changes, we are headed in the right direction !